New Gear, New Clothes: Hotel gyms up the ante on fitness

Westin partners with New Balance to offer workout clothes and sneakers to hotel guests.

By Mark Chesnut

Hotel companies are making it more difficult than ever to come up with excuses not to exercise while traveling. With expanded gym facilities, customized workout tips and even clothing and gear available to borrow, road warriors will find new ways to stay in shape.

One of the most recent upgrades come from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, which has revamped its Fairmont Fit program with new fitness gear, running shoes and other sports apparel from Reebok. Members of Fairmont Presidents’ Club—the company’s free loyalty program—get access to the gear, delivered directly to their guest room.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which owns multiple hotel brands around the globe, is also heavily invested in keeping guests fit. Its Sheraton Hotels & Resorts division has been working on its fitness centers and offerings, with a strategy called “Sheraton Fitness Programmed by Core Performance.” Sheraton’s fitness facilities are furnished with equipment from Life Fitness, while guest-room workouts are easy to arrange thanks to the four 30-minute on-demand workout videos, available for free.

At Westin Hotels & Resorts, guests can pay just $5 to borrow a variety of New Balance gear, including running shoes with disposable insoles and men’s and women’s apparel including shorts, shirts, sports bras, socks and capri pants. Guests can keep the socks and get a 10 percent discount on their next New Balance purchase. Westin also offers in-room fitness tips that include stretching and strengthening workouts, cardio and yoga.

With fitness tips and expert advice so readily available now at many hotels, it’s no surprise that hoteliers are expecting clients to take their new ideas home with them. Sheraton, in fact, operates a Website, SheratonFitness.com, where former guests can explore online training programs created by Core Performance, as well as health and nutrition tips. Those excuses for not exercising are disappearing faster than the rooms with the best views.

Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America. He doesn’t necessarily practice what he preaches.